produce of the beet-root works established in Southern Russia.
Woollen manufactories have so rapidly and extensively increased, that,
whereas, comparatively a few years past only, the manufacture of
woollens was confined almost exclusively to the coarser sorts for army
use, whilst the better qualities for the consumption of the more easy
classes, and for export to Asia, were imported from abroad, chiefly from
Great Britain; for the fifteen years preceding 1840 the case has been
completely altered. The import of foreign woollens has almost altogether
ceased for internal consumption in Russia, whilst no woollens but of
Russian make are now exported to Asia, and especially China. The export
of these home-made woollens figures far above two millions of rubles
yearly in the tables of Russian commerce with eastern countries. It will
be seen that while the imports of cotton yarn, in the space of forty-two
years, had increased in the proportion from 1 to 12 only, that of raw
cotton had advanced in the proportion from 1 to 32. The facts are
significant of the growing extension both of spinning factories and the
cotton manufactories. It is difficult to understand or credit the
increased imported values of cotton fabrics here represented, knowing,
as we do, the decreased export to Russia in our own tables of values and
quantities. But we shall have occasion hereafter, perhaps, to notice
some peculiarities in the Russian official system of valuations, which
may probably serve to clear up the ambiguity. But although importing
foreign cottons for internal consumption, Russia is moreover an exporter
of domestic fabrics, to the value of about one million of silver rubles,
on the side of Asia. In order to avoid as far as possible the
multiplication of figures by the accompanying reduction of the moneys
and weights of Russia into English quantities, it may be convenient to
state, that the silver ruble is equal to 37-1/2d. sterling, and, in
commercial reckoning, the pood answers to 36 lbs. avoirdupois.

Limiting our views for the present to the trade in cottons, as the
manufacture of cottons is of much more recent growth in Russia than
woollen and other manufactures, we find that the exact imports,
quantities, or values, of cotton and yarn, are thus quoted in Russian
official returns for the three last years to which made up _seriatim_.

1839. 1840. 1841.
Raw cotton, 354,832 398,189